People make claims all the time. Our political leaders tell us that if we vote them into office, things will change for the better. America will become great again. Taxes will be reduced. Crime will be punished. A chicken will be in every pot, and a car in every garage. On and on they go with their claims.

It’s easy to make claims and promises; it’s far more difficult to validate your claims; i.e., to demonstrate that you can provide what you promise.

In Luke 5:1-26, we have three miracle stories. We looked that the first one, the great catch of fish, last Sunday. Today we’ll consider the next two, where Jesus heals a leper and a paralyzed man. Each of these miracles validates Jesus’ claims.

Miracles in the Bible are sometimes called “signs.” The Gospel of John, in particular, refers to Jesus’ miracles as signs. A sign points to something else. We read signs and they tell us what to do or not do. They give us information. Remember that “the Jews require a sign,” (1 Cor 1:22) and Jesus did plenty of signs to show that he was who he claimed to be.

So what do the miracles that Jesus did tell us about him? They verify his claims. In both of the stories we’ll look at today, Jesus makes claims. We’ll find that Jesus not only makes claims, but he delivers on his claims. The miracles prove that his claims are valid.